Future and New Students with Disabilities

Are you thinking of applying or are you applying to Queen's? Have you accepted an offer or already here at Queen's?

As a new student you will be facing many challenges and changes at the beginning of your university life. The Accessibility Hub has gathered information on supports and services to make this transition a little easier.

IMPORTANT: If you believe you may require academic accommodations, both new and returning students, on campus or distance students, should contact the Queen's Student Accessibility Services (QSAS). The QSAS can assist to determine accommodations needed and connect you with those services, supports, and resources within the Queen's community.

Provides students with disabilities the information needed to choose a post-secondary institution that best meets their needs.

Outlines the services available, the key contact information, and the documentation requirements for each post-secondary institution in Ontario.

Assists students in making an informed decision regarding their choice of post-secondary institution.

First-year Queen's Students

Start-UP Transition Support Service for Students With Disabilities

Start-UP is a great opportunity for first year students who are registered with QSAS to receive individualized support on any aspect of their transition to university. The university learning environment can be very different from a high school environment and figuring out how you work best in this environment can at times be a process. When you meet with Gail (our Start-UP co-ordinator), she will help you figure out how to use your strengths to work through the aspects of the transition you are finding the most challenging in this new environment. You may have found that strategies related to studying, time management, advocacy, focus and concentration and organization that worked well in high school don't seem to work as well in university. Maybe you have questions including:

How do I focus in a large lecture hall?

How do I get from one side of campus to the other in time for class?

How can teaching assistants support me and should I go to the office hours that instructors post?

How do I find time to socialize when the textbook readings are taking up most of my free time?

How can I approach an instructor whose teaching style is very different from what I am used to?

How do I talk to my instructors about my academic accommodations?

How do I take notes when the instructor talks faster than I can type or write?

Student Affairs

QSuccess - A First Year Experience Program: Q Success is a transition program to help first year students develop knowledge, attitudes, and skills to support their personal and academic success at Queen's. Trained upper year peers and professional staff run a series of interactive sessions for small groups of about 25 first year students.

See also

Admissions

All students, those with and those without disabilities, must meet the same criteria for admission, and once admitted are assumed to be academically qualified to participate in the educational process of the University. Recent data indicate that 91% of students admitted to Queen's do in fact graduate, so the entrance criteria seem to be effectively selecting those who can succeed. This includes students with disabilities, although specific information about retention of students with disabilities is not yet available.

Awards, Scholarships and Bursaries

Queen's University’s financial assistance consists of merit-based scholarships, need-based bursaries, and awards based on academic achievement. There is a range of financial assistance and services available to students with disabilities at Queen's. Students are strongly encouraged to contact the Student Awards Office for complete information.

The ATF Bursaries for the Disabled

are awarded to students with disabilities who are registered with the Disability Services Office.

The Beatrice (Steuer) Cohen Award

is awarded on the basis of financial need and academic achievement to students in any faculty who are challenged with a physical disability. Preference will be given to students with an impaired mobility. Students must be registered with the Disability Services Office.

The Disabled Students’ Bursaries

are awarded to students with disabilities based on financial need.

Rehab Therapy Society Sesquicentennial Bursary

is awarded on the basis of financial need to undergraduate and/or graduate students in any faculty who are challenged with a physical disability.

Scotiabank Group Accessibility Bursaries

are awarded on the basis of financial need to students in any school or faculty who have a disability and who are enrolled in a minimum of one credit per term (40% course load). Students must be registered with Disability Services Office.

Joubin/Selig Scholarship

established a Scholarship Award at the Toronto Community Foundation to provide financial assistance to post-secondary students in Ontario, withpermanent physical (mobility) disabilities, who wish to pursue an education in their chosen field of study.